Paltrow to sing at CMAs

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow will take the stage at next month's Country Music Association Awards — as a performer.

She'll sing the title track of her new movie, "Country Strong," joined by Vince Gill .

Paltrow stars in the film with Tim McGraw, Garrett Hedlund and Leighton Meester . She plays a washed-up country singer who gets romantically involved with a rising singer-songwriter (Hedlund). They try to resurrect her career with a major tour, headed by her husband/manager (McGraw) and featuring a beauty-queen-turned-singer (Meester).

Paltrow researched country music history for the role.

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"I sort of started at the beginning with Hank (Williams) Sr. and Johnny Cash and really studied Dolly (Parton) and Loretta Lynn, and kind of just started at the beginning and went all the way through and found the people that I really love and who inspired me," she told the Associated Press in a recent interview.

Cage vs. crime

Oscar-winning actor Nicolas Cage said Thursday in Vienna that nations must work together in the battle against organized crime.

Cage, a United Nations goodwill ambassador for global justice, said the threat posed by criminal networks is too big for communities or states to confront on their own so that countries must cooperate with one another.

"Organized crime is a deadly infection that preys on human beings," Cage told delegates at a conference aimed at boosting support for a U.N. convention to curb organized crime. "It sows fear and violence in cities, towns and villages around the world."

Cage described being a U.N. goodwill ambassador as his "most challenging and meaningful role" yet and divulged that he once considered leaving the movie business to devote more time to helping others. "At some point I wanted to stop being an actor and start taking action," he said.

Under new management

Rihanna is now under Jay-Z's umbrella. The Grammy-winning pop singer has parted ways with manager Marc Jordan and is now being managed by Jay-Z's Roc Nation Management.

The 22-year-old is also launching a new company called Rihanna Entertainment. She says it will merge all of her businesses, "including music, film, fragrance, fashion and book ventures."

Novak being treated for cancer

Actress Kim Novak is undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

Novak's manager says the 77-year-old "Vertigo" actress will receive minimal treatment, as the cancer was caught early by a routine mammogram, and that she is in "fantastic physical shape."

Manager Sue Cameron says Novak works out with a trainer three times a week, rides horses daily and is expected to be "just fine."

Novak appeared in a string of films in the late 1950s and 1960s. She lives in Oregon with her husband.

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